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Thursday, February 14, 2013

Three cheers for Simion Craciun in Romania!!! Mr. Craciun had it right when he said, ""Never, ever would I sacrifice a horse". I am also glad to see more of the news of what is happening in Europe being reported here in the US. And I hope it helps to stop slaughter from re-opening here and puts an end to our horses being shipped to Mexico and Canada for slaughter.~Declan

** For more frequent updates on the European horsemeat scandal, please also visit Children 4 Horses on Facebook, where more articles and updates are also posted. **

In this Feb. 12, 2013 men ride on a horse pulled cart passing by the Doly Com abattoir, in Sieu Sfantu, Romania, one of the two Romanian plants suspected in the recent European horse meat scandal . Europe’s horsemeat scandal has focused the spotlight on Romania and its network of 35 plants authorized to butcher horses. France says Romanian butchers were part of a supply chain that resulted in horsemeat being labeled as beef in frozen meals across Europe. The Romanians have bristled and say the meat was properly declared when it left the country. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File) (The Associated Press)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, Simion Craciun, a Romanian farmer, poses with a horse at Sieu Sfantu, in Romania's central region Transylvania. The name of his farm translates roughly as “Saving Horses from Wolves.” But for Simion Craciun, the real predators are from the nearby slaughterhouse. When word has gotten to him that a horse is being sold to the abattoir in the poor northern Transylvania region where he lives, he has rushed out to offer more money and bring the creature back to his picturesque plot where tourists come for riding lessons, he said. (AP Photo/Olimpiu Gheorghiu) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this July 4, 2009 file photo, a horse pulled cart passing by a sunflower field, In Sieu Sfantu, outside Bucharest, Romania. Bedraggled horses and rickety carts were once a common sight even in the center of Bucharest with owners sometimes whipping the animals until they collapsed. But as part of an effort to modernize the country after it joined the European Union in 2007, Romania banned horses from cities, making them an unjustified burden for many owners. In the countryside, peasants have a more pragmatic relationship with their animals, and look after them rather like an owner services a car. But with costs between euros 100 ($135) and euros 150 ($200) to keep a horse every month, up to 40 percent of the average national salary, it can be far too expensive for subsistence farmers to afford them. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File) (The Associated Press)

SIEU SFANTU, Romania – The name of his farm translates roughly as "Saving Horses from Wolves." But for Simion Craciun, the real predators are the nearby slaughterhouse.

When word has gotten to him that a horse is being sold to the abattoir in the poor northern Transylvania region where he lives, he has rushed out to offer more money and bring the creature back to his picturesque plot where tourists come for riding lessons, he said.

"When I see how farmers whip them, it drives me mad," Craciun said. "I go to sleep thinking about them; I wake up thinking about them."

Even in a country where the horse is a national symbol, such concern for their welfare is rare. In tough economic times, some Romanians are selling their horses to slaughterhouses because they can't afford to keep them.

Europe's horsemeat scandal has focused the spotlight on Romania and its network of 35 plants authorized to butcher horses. France says Romanian butchers were part of a supply chain that resulted in horsemeat being labeled as beef in frozen meals across Europe. The Romanians have bristled and say the meat was properly declared when it left the country.

Horse exports have been growing, up about 10 percent from 2011 to 2012, with about 6,300 tons of horse, mule and donkey meat exported. Many of those were sold by private owners.

Bedraggled horses and rickety carts were once a common sight even in the center of Bucharest with owners sometimes whipping the animals until they collapsed. But as part of an effort to modernize the country after it joined the European Union in 2007, Romania banned horses from cities, making them an unjustified burden for many owners.

In the countryside, peasants have a more pragmatic relationship with their animals, and look after them rather like an owner services a car. But with costs between €100 ($135) and €150 ($200) to keep a horse every month — up to 40 percent of the average national salary — it can be far too expensive for subsistence farmers to afford them.

"Horses are expensive to keep and many owners have been forced to give them up especially since they were banned from cities," said Nicu Stoica, a riding instructor who owns several horses.

Yet beaten, malnourished and unkempt as they are, horses have remained an intrinsic part of agricultural society, plowing the fields, cantering on country roads and until recently trotting side by side with cars.

Romanians, who don't typically eat horsemeat themselves, insist that other Europeans are unfairly scapegoating them. In Britain, where horsemeat is taboo, consumers have responded with particular revulsion to the scandal.

Costel Mustafa, a butcher at Bucharest's Bucur Obor meat market considered the reaction part of the condescending attitude some Western Europeans have to Romania.

"Horse crap!" he said, as he trimmed a mutton carcass. "The French just want to denigrate us. The British? They are even worse."

But Craciun is pained at the way horses in Romania are frequently seen as fit only for the slaughterhouse. He said he paid twice what the local abattoir was offering to secure his first horse and now owns 14, eight of which he rescued from the slaughterhouse.

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SAFE Act

The Safeguard American Food Exports "SAFE" H.R.1942 is the current bill proposed in the House and Senate to protect American horses from slaughter. PLEASE contact your legisltors and ask the to cosponsor and support SAFE.

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Declan Bio

Declan is honored to be the 2012 ASPCA's Humane Kid of the Year and the first ever recipient of the ASPCA Junior Equine Angel Award. Declan is also an ASPCA Junior Equine Welfare Ambassador.

After hearing about the inhumane and cruel practice of horse slaughter, now ten-year-old Declan, decided he needed to raise his voice. He created Children 4 Horses, to spread the word about horse advocacy issues and worked diligently with the Million Horse March campaign to collect letters from children to inspire lawmakers to end the slaughter of American horses.

Declan’s dedication to horse advocacy brought him to the nation’s capital twice, where he represented over 1,000 children from the United States by presenting the letters to legislators in Congress. While in Washington DC, Declan met with Congressman Frank Guinta of New Hampshire, where he shared his opposition to the inhumane treatment of horses and subsequently garnered the Congressman’s co-sponsorship of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S.1176/H.R.2966).

Declan also joined forces with the “Horses on the Hill” campaign, speaking before celebrities, Congressmen and Senators to lobby against horse slaughter and advocate for the protection of horses under S.1176/H.R.2966. In addition to his three Washington DC visits, Declan testified at a hearing for a bill opposing horse slaughter at the New Hampshire State House in January, 2012.